Punchy Labs is making their own springs, which they have for sale on Taobao. These were originally pointed out to me by Okonomiyaki on Discord, who has been acting in some capacity as Punchy’s voice in the West.
They come in 3 weights: 50gf, 58.5gf, and 67.5gf. They are sold in packs of 200 for ¥120, or $17.85 US according to Google. Here is the product link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=584105198724
I ordered a bag of each a while ago, and have just tested a few. This is a mini-review with my initial impressions.
I will compare with a Sprit 60S v4.0 spring and one of the new TX 60g springs.
Subjective comparison
The Punchy and Sprit springs are very similar. Both springs are light at the top and very cushiony at the bottom. When you press them at the same time, you can tell that the Punchy one is a touch lighter. The Punchy pretty much feels like a lighter version of the Sprit.
On a fast press, it feels like the Punchy spring has more “kick” out of the bottom of the press. I’m not sure if I’m really feeling the extra return acceleration or if it’s some quirk in my setup. I’m also not sure what exactly this kick would be – if the return force is indeed more or less the same, then the spring would have to be less massive in order to produce greater acceleration. I seriously doubt the springs have enough of a difference in physical properties to produce an effect like this, so I don’t really believe my fingers on this.
The TX spring is different. It is noticeably stiffer at the top and is much more constant through the stroke. Fans of Gateron yellows will appreciate this one.
None of the springs exhibit appreciable crunch or grind. Note that I have not lubed them, and I am trying them in a bare PCB, so I can’t compare unlubed ping. But you should lube your springs anyway.
Experimental comparison
I am using an Aliaz housing with a Cherry MX Silent slider to do the comparison
Here is my attempt to compare their force curves visually. Unfortunately the camera perspective make side-by-side comparison basically useless, but you can see that they are all pretty close to their rated weights.
Conclusion
These are a good Sprit alternative at a reasonable price. They come in 3 desirable weights, and the weightings seem to be very accurate. They also look cool.
Superbuy fees and international shipping do add significantly to the cost. But you can probably find a few other local people to combine your order with. IMO this would be a good a candidate for a Western group buy, or an item for a NA or EU vendor to stock.
You can join the Punchy Labs Discord server here: punchy_lab GB